Word search puzzle having grid of cells containing multiple letters

ABSTRACT

A word search type puzzle is provided in the form of a grid containing two or more letters in each cell. Words are formed by selecting one or more of the letters in each cell and progressing to other cells in a manner following a standard word search format, in that words may be formed forwards or backwards, vertically, horizontally or diagonally, in a linear fashion. Any combination of quantities of letters from each cell can be specified to be used in forming each solution. The grid can be mapped using coordinates for rows and columns. Solutions can be provided with hints for discovery, such as a starting or ending grid coordinate or direction within the grid. Solutions can be marked on the grid, or can be identified by the user by their coordinates and direction within the grid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/677,692, filed Jul. 31, 2012, for all purposes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a word search type puzzle, and more specifically to a word search puzzle utilizing a non-singular grid of characters.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Word search type puzzles are known in the prior art. The most popularly known example is a standard word search where words are hidden in a vertical and horizontal linear grid containing one letter per cell of the grid. Words can be oriented in a forward or backward direction, vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The placement of the letters must follow a specific set of rules in order to provide the challenge which in turn provides for the entertainment factor of the game in question.

Another example of a word search type game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,561 to Schroeder. Schroeder discloses a word search based game including a playing surface divided into individual playing cells, and a plurality of both alphanumeric playing tiles and directional instruction tiles. The alphanumeric tiles are placed on the playing surface in a manner to form words, similar to the popular Scrabble® game. However, in this iteration, the played tiles do not necessarily have to form words with every alphanumeric playing tile that happens to be adjacent on the board. Directional instruction tiles are of the same size, shape and color as the alphanumeric playing tiles so that they may be drawn at random with alphanumeric playing tiles, but indicate a desired direction in which to form a word and a bonus multiplier if a word follows said direction. The game also provides category cards that can be drawn at the start of a game to provide a scoring bonus to words formed which meet the category. The game is adaptable to both a traditional board game format and a computerized format.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,319, an apparatus for a word game is disclosed using a game board surface divided into a number of squares into which playing pieces containing letters of the alphabet are placed to form a word. The various words are contained in groups which, when of a certain size, are considered to be an ISLAND which creates the right to start a new word independent from all others, which is an ATOLL. Except for ATOLLS and the beginning of the game, any new letters added must form a word with those letters already on the playing field. New words which link one ISLAND to another ISLAND or ATOLL are ISTHMUSES and capture the ISLAND OR ATOLL to which they are linked as part of the territory for the player creating such an ISTHMUS. Two icosahedron dice having their faces numbered from 1 to 20 are used to randomly select numbers from 2 to 40. These numbers are related to the letters of the alphabet by a decoder with the frequency of the number approximating the frequency of the use of letters in making words. The seldom used letters of the alphabet are increased through the use of a number of bonus letters and the value of the individual letters vary based on a scoring code. The individual ownership of ATOLLS, ISTHMUSES, and ISLANDS is shown by a color coded transparent flag placed on top of one of the previously played letters.

In 1988, Waddingtons Games, Ltd. published Wordsearch: The Game of Finding Words, a word search based board game where tiles are randomly placed on a grid of spaces on a playing surface. Players take turns moving the tiles to vacant spaces to form words. Words may be formed in any direction. Letter tiles are both played onto the playing surface and moved around on the playing surface in order to accomplish word formation.

While the aforementioned games or puzzles generally involve the formation of words through placement of letters in a linear array, or the discovery of words hidden in a fixed array, they do not describe a word search containing multiple letters in each cell of a grid. In this respect, the game according to the present invention departs substantially from the usual designs in the prior art. In doing so, this invention provides a more challenging word search experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of word games, this invention provides an improved word search. As such, the present invention's general purpose is to provide a new and improved word search game that uses more than one letter in each cell. Players start with a grid filled with letters used to assemble the words found on a provided list. Some of the letters will be used and others are there only to increase the difficulty of the puzzle. Players have only the restrictions that they must form the words using letters found in cells that are in a straight line. Otherwise, words may be formed in any direction, as is customary in word search puzzles. Played letters do not need to be in any specific order within each cell, but the letter or letters in adjacent cells must follow the proper spelling of the word as a single letter or a pair or group of letters. Other variations of the game include restrictions on the number of letters that can be used in each cell and the option of whether the same letter can be used twice within a cell.

The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow.

An object of the present invention is to provide a word search based puzzle that is entertaining to play.

It is another object of the invention to provide a word search based puzzle that is adaptable to either a conventional paper format or computer format.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a word search based puzzle that can use multiple letters per cell to increase the difficulty and entertainment values of the puzzle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a word search based puzzle that is adaptable to infinite categories and arrangements.

It is an even further object of the invention to provide a word search based puzzle that is economical to manufacture and produce so as to keep eventual costs to the consumer reasonable.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of a double word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of double letters with solutions formed by using a combination of single and double letters from adjoining cells in a linear configuration.

FIG. 2 is an example of a double word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of double letters with solutions formed by a single letter from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration.

FIG. 3 is an example of a double word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of double letters with solutions formed by all letters from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration to the extent that the number of letters in the solution are evenly divisible by the number of letters in each cell.

FIG. 4 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of four letters per cell with solutions formed by one or three letters from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration.

FIG. 5 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of five letters per cell with solutions formed by using two to four letters from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration.

FIG. 6 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of cells having varying numbers of letters per cell with solutions formed by using any combination of letters from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration.

FIG. 7 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of cells having three letters per cell with solutions formed by using a combination of letters from each of the adjoining cells in a linear configuration and in which the solutions are provided with the coordinate of the first letter and an arrow indicating the direction for formation of the solution.

FIG. 8 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of cells having four letters per cell with solutions formed by using a combination of letters from adjoining cells in a linear configuration and provided with a solution table that has columns that are labeled for entering the coordinate of the first letter and the coordinate of the last letter of the solution.

FIG. 9 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention using a grid of cells having three letters per cell, wherein the puzzle has been solved and the user has entered the coordinate of the first letter and the direction of the solution into the table, and has circled the solution on the grid.

FIG. 10 is an example of a word search puzzle according to the invention of FIG. 9, wherein the puzzle has been solved and the user has entered the coordinates of the first letter and the coordinates of the last letter of the solution into the table, and has run a line through the solution on the grid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a word search puzzle 10 is provided. The word search puzzle 10 includes a grid 12 and a solution table 14. The puzzle 10 of FIG. 1 is also provided with a title 15 that identifies the theme of the puzzle 10, in this instance “States”.

The grid 12 is formed of an array of cells 16 arranged in rows 18 and columns 20. Each of the rows 18 is identified by a letter coordinate 22, and each of the columns 20 is identified by a numeric coordinate 24. Each cell 16 is occupied by a letter or letters 26.

The solution table 14 of FIG. 1 includes two columns 28, 30. The column 28 contains a list of word solutions 32 that are to be found within the grid 12. Using the first word solution 32, “Michigan”, the column 30, in this embodiment, contains the grid coordinate 34 of the beginning cell 36, in this case cell “C1”. The grid coordinate is composed of the letter coordinate 22 (“C”) of the row 18 and the numeric coordinate 24 (“1”) of the column 20.

In order to solve the puzzle 10 of FIG. 1, the user selects a word solution 32 from the solution table 14 and, using the grid coordinate 34 as a starting point, searches for the sequence of letters that form the word solution 32. Using the first word solution 32, “Michigan”, and the starting grid coordinate 34, “C1”, it can be seen that the word solution 32 is located by using the “M” and the “I” from cell C1, the “C” and the “H” from cell C2, and the “I”, “G”, “A” and “N” from cells C3, C4, C5 and C6 respectively. It will be noted in this embodiment that it is permissible to use one or both of the letters 26 found in the linear array of cells 16 that contain the word solution 32. As will be seen in other embodiments below, the rules of usage of the letters for each word solution can be varied and set for each particular puzzle.

FIG. 2 illustrates a puzzle 40 including a grid 42 and a solution table 44. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the grid 42 is formed of an array of cells 46 arranged in rows 48 and columns 50. The rows are identified by letter coordinates 52 and the columns by numeric coordinates 54. Each cell contains two letters 56. The solution table 44 includes a pair of columns 58, 60 containing word solutions 62 and grid coordinates 64, respectively. The first word solution 62, “Michigan”, corresponds to the grid coordinate 64 of beginning cell 66, here “H2”. In this embodiment, each cell 46 of the linear array contains a single letter of the word solution 62. Thus, “Michigan” is found by using one letter 26 from each of cells 46 in the order of H2, G3, F4, E5, D6, C7, B8 and A9.

FIGS. 3-5 present further embodiments of the word search puzzle according to the invention. Each embodiment introduces new variations to the number of letters found in each cell of the grid, and the requirement for utilization of those letters to locate the words solutions.

In FIG. 3, the puzzle 70 includes a grid 72 and a solution table 74. Each cell 76 of the grid 72 contains two letters 78. Each word solution 80 is formed by using both letters 78 in each applied cell 76, to the extent that the number of letters in the word solution 80 is evenly divisible by the number of letter 78 in the cells 76. In the case where the number of letters in the word solution is not so evenly divisible, one cell in the solution array may only have one letter used in the solution. For example, “Alabama” contains seven letters, which is not evenly divided by two. Starting in cell G1, only the “A” in cell G1 is used, followed by the “LA”, “BA” and “MA” in cells F1, E1 and D1, respectively. Like solutions, making an exception for one cell in the solution array, are found for other word solutions containing an odd number of letters (Florida, Vermont and Georgia). Further, possible solutions that do not meet the requirement for utilizing all possible letters in the solution array would be disallowed. In the example of FIG. 3, “Ohio” could be formed by using the “O” in cell C1, the “H1” in cell D2 and the “O” in cell E3. However, this does not fulfill the requirement for utilizing all letters in the cells of the solution array when the word solution is evenly divisible. In the case of “Ohio”, only a two-cell solution array meets this requirement. This solution array consists of cells C4 and B4. This might seem intuitive, given that the starting cell C4 is given in the solution table 74. However, the provision of a starting cell in the solution table does not occur is every embodiment of the invention, or variations thereof, as will be discussed further below.

In FIG. 4, the puzzle 90 includes a grid 92 and a solution table 94. Each cell 96 of the grid 92 contains four letters 98. In this embodiment, the rules governing the location of word solutions 100 require utilizing either one or three of the letters 98 in each cell 96 of the solution array. In the highlighted example, “Michigan” is formed by the “MIC” in cell D1, the “HIG” in cell C2 and the “A” and “N” in cells B3 and A4, respectively. “Alabama” is similarly formed from the “A”, “L” and “A” of cells E5, D5 and C5, the “BAM” of cell B5 and the “A” of cell A5. Again, while the starting coordinates of each word solution 100 is provided in this example, additional challenge can be created by omitting this clue.

Referring to FIG. 5, the puzzle 110 consists of the grid 112 and the solution table 114. In this example, each cell 116 of the grid 112 contains five letters 118. The rules governing solution formation require that each word solution 120 be formed by using between two and four of the letters 118 from each cell 116 in the solution array. Hence, “Michigan” is formed by the “MIC” in cell D4, the “HI” in cell C4 and the “GAN” in cell B4.

FIG. 6 illustrates a puzzle 130 presenting a grid 132 and solution table 134. The grid 132 varies from the previous embodiments in that it contains cells 136, 137 with differing quantities of letters 138. The cell 137 contains eight letters 138, while the remaining cells 136 contain only two letters 138. Further, cell 137 is formed by the merger of four cells 136, so that it spans two rows 140 and two columns 142. Thus, the letters 138 in cell 137 can be utilized in combination with letters 138 in adjoining cells 136 in both of those rows and columns. In this embodiment, any number of letters 138 from the adjoining cells 136, 137 in the solution array can be used, although other rules of usage can be imposed to vary or increase the level of difficulty of the puzzle.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a puzzle 150 with a grid 152 and solution table 154. The grid 152 is formed of cells 156, each containing three letters 158. The solution table 154 has three columns 160, 162,164. The column 160 lists word solutions 166. The column 162 contains starting cell grid coordinates 168. The column 166 contains directional indicators 170. The directional indicators 170 are illustrated as arrows, but can also be provided as angular degrees, compass points, clock hands or other accepted and understood descriptors. Word solutions 166 are located within the grid 152 by starting at coordinate 168 and proceeding according to the directional indicator 170.

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate a puzzle 180 with a grid 182 and a solution table 184. The grid 182 is formed of cells 186 containing letters 188. The solution table 184 contains three columns 190, 192, 194. The column 190 lists the word solutions 196. As shown in FIG. 8, next to each word solution 196 in the solution table 184 are empty cells 198, 200. The empty cells 198, 200 can be utilized for two methods of expressing the solution to the puzzle. In FIG. 9, the user has entered the starting cell grid coordinate 202 in cell 198, and the directional indicator 204 in cell 200. The word solutions are circled in the grid 182. In FIG. 10, the user has enter the starting cell grid coordinate 202 in cell 198, and the ending cell grid coordinate 206 in cell 200. The word solutions are lined through in the grid 182. Either method of presenting the solution set can be specified by the puzzle rules, or chosen by the user.

An answer key (not shown) will normally be provided for each puzzle presented. The answer key will show the word solutions by one of several methods. The word solutions can be circled or lined through, as shown in the puzzles of FIGS. 9-10. In the alternative, a color printing can show the word solutions in a different color print, or by highlighting. Finally, the word solutions can be revealed by removing the unused letters, making the word solutions easier to discern.

In one embodiment of the invention, the puzzle is played on a mobile application of the type that is designed to run on smart phones and other mobile devices.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A word search type puzzle comprising: a grid having a plurality of cells wherein each one of the plurality of cells contains at least one letter, at least one of the plurality of cells contains two or more letters, and two or more of the plurality of cells are solution cells, each solution cell comprising one or more solution letters; the grid further containing at least one word solution, the at least one word solution formed by connecting two or more solution letters whereby at least one of the solution cells contains two or more letters, each solution cell is adjacent to at least one other solution cell, and the solution cells form a linear configuration.
 2. The puzzle of claim 1, further including a coordinate system to identify the location of cells in the grid.
 3. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the linear configuration is oriented in one of a forward and backward horizontal direction.
 4. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the linear configuration is oriented in one of a forward and backward diagonal direction.
 5. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the linear configuration is oriented in one of an upward and downward vertical direction.
 6. The puzzle of claim 1, further comprising a list of the word solutions to be found in the grid.
 7. The puzzle of claim 6, wherein the list of word solutions further comprises a grid coordinate to identify a starting cell for locating the word solution.
 8. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the word solutions are formed utilizing only one of the letters in each adjoining cell.
 9. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the word solutions are formed utilizing all of the letters in each adjoining cell, to the extent that the number of letters in the word solution is evenly divisible by the number of letters in each adjoining cell.
 10. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the word solutions are formed utilizing a predetermined number of the letters contained in the adjoining cells.
 11. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the word solutions are formed utilizing a predetermined range of numbers of the letters contained in the adjoining cells.
 12. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein said grid arranges said cells in an array of rows and columns, said grid further comprising at least one enlarged cell that spans at least one of multiple columns and multiple rows.
 13. The puzzle of claim 12, wherein said at least one enlarged cell contains a number of letters corresponding to a multiple of the number of letters contained in adjacent non-enlarged cells.
 14. The puzzle of claim 12, wherein said at least one enlarged cell combines with adjoining cells of any of said multiple columns and multiple rows to form word solutions.
 15. The puzzle of claim 1, where a letter in one of said adjoining cells is utilized twice within the same cell to form the word solution.
 16. The puzzle of claim 1, further comprising an answer key revealing the location of the word solutions in the manner of one of circling, lining through, coloring, highlighting and removing unused letters.
 17. A word search type puzzle formed of an array of letters, wherein the letters are arrayed in a grid-like configuration, and wherein the letters are arrayed in groups of at least two letters within the grid-like configuration, and wherein a word solution is contained within the array of letters by combining letters from adjoining groups in a linear configuration so that the word solution is constructed by connecting at least one letter from one group to at least one letter in the next group in the linear configuration.
 18. The puzzle of claim 17, wherein the word solutions are constructed by combining multiple letters from at least one of said groups in the linear configuration.
 19. The puzzle of claim 18, further comprising a listing of word solutions contained within the array of letters.
 20. The puzzle of claim 19, wherein the listing of word solutions includes location indicia to identify a position of the word solution within the grid-like configuration. 